Allianz to Buy UOB Asset Management Unit as CEO Targets Asia

Allianz SE agreed to buy the asset management unit of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd., marking the German insurer’s second major deal in recent days as Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete pursues growth in the region.

Allianz Global Investors, an asset management arm of the insurer, will pay S$555 million ($433 million) excluding one-off transaction costs for UOB Asset Management Ltd., according to a statement Wednesday, which confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.

Allianz announced a deal to buy HSBC Holdings Plc’s Singapore insurance unit for S$2.7 billion on July 24.

Read more: Allianz to Buy HSBC’s Singapore Insurer in $2.1 Billion Deal

The UOB deal fits two of Baete’s objectives — growing in Asia and increasing exposure to asset management. Allianz recently moved to buy out the remaining minority owners of bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co, or Pimco, having controlled the US firm for more than a quarter century.

The wholly owned UOB subsidiary had about S$42 billion of assets under management as of end-2025. The deal will give AllianzGI access to UOB’s distribution network across eight Asian markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. All 500 existing UOBAM employees will transition to Allianz.

UOB expects the sale to generate a pretax gain of about S$330 million and boost the group’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio by about 14 basis points. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2027, pending regulatory approvals.

People familiar with the matter said in December that UOB was exploring options for the asset management arm, including a possible sale, to streamline its portfolio. AllianzGI emerged as the likeliest buyer and entered exclusive talks to finalize a transaction, people familiar with the development said earlier in June. Amundi SA, KKR & Co. and Temasek Holdings Pte’s Seviora were also among bidders.

AllianzGI had almost €600 billion ($697 billion) in assets under management as of the end of March. That included equity, fixed income, private market and multi-asset strategies, while Pimco oversees some €1.6 trillion for outside clients.

Allianz reports earnings on Aug. 7.

Photograph: The Allianz SE logo sits on a top of a building in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017; Photo credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg